Record voting but little joy for Democrats

Record early voting in key midterm states has diminished hopes that the Democrats will be swept into power on Capitol Hill.

Donald Trump on the way to Houston this week. Picture: AFP

Record early voting in key mid-term states has diminished hopes that the Democrats will be swept into power on Capitol Hill by a “blue wave” of winning candidates.

Heady predictions have been downgraded to cautious optimism after analysis showed Republicans outvoting Democrats in states with pivotal Senate races. The outcomes in Arizona, Florida, In­diana, Montana, Tennessee and Texas will decide who controls the chamber, where Democrats have a slim chance of overturning the Republicans’ 51-49 majority. More Republicans have cast ballots so far, consistent with early voting patterns in past mid-terms.

In Tennessee, Trump-supporting congresswoman Marsha Black­burn is running against Phil Bredesen, a Democratic former governor supported by pop star Taylor Swift, for a seat left by a retiring Republican. Only 30 per cent of early voters so far are Democrats and 63 per cent are Republicans, according to NBC News/TargetSmart.

In Arizona, another state with a retiring Republican, the polls have two congresswomen neck and neck: Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally. Ms McSally will win if Republicans continue to outpace Democrats at the same rate on election day.

If patterns hold, it will be independents who decide the race in both Arizona and Montana, where Jon Tester, a Democrat, is facing a challenge for his seat. In each state, about a quarter of early voters had no affiliation. The only bright spot for Democrats was in Nevada, where 45 per cent of early voters were registered to the party and 38 per cent to the Republicans.

More than five million people have cast ballots in the 28 states that began early voting. Many polling stations have reported rec­ord numbers and analysts say that the turnout could be the highest in a century.

The Times